A cheater bar or cheater pipe is an improvised tool made from a length of pipe and a wrench, including a standard socket wrench. A cheater bar is sometimes called a pipe extension or an extension pipe. Cheater bars are usually used to free screws, bolts, nuts and other fasteners that are difficult to remove with a ratchet or wrench alone. Cheater bars are also commonly used to operate valves. When the handle of a wrench or ratchet is inserted into a cheater bar, the additional length of the pipe makes it possible to generate a required amount of torque to loosen the screw, bolt, nut or fastener with a reduced amount of applied force.
Notwithstanding the advantages of cheater bars, there are industrial and workplace problems with their use. For example, if the fastener is loosened and freed suddenly, the worker can be thrown off balance and become injured. More of a concern, the cheater bar itself can slip off and become a projectile against other persons or property in the vicinity, which could resulted in falls, impacts, punctures, and other injuries. Further, cheater bars are often arranged and used ad hoc, and are usually improperly sized and weighted for the need.
As a result of such problems and risks to workers and property, federal regulations provides that the tools and equipment used by employees be in a safe condition, and that modified or mutilated hand tools are not permitted, including makeshift arrangements that overload a wrench by using a pipe extension (cheater bar) on the handle. Certain job sites are no longer allowed to use cheater pipes, notwithstanding the need for tools to help break loose nuts and bolts.
Consequently, there remains a need to provide mechanics and workers with devices that assist the removal of screws, bolts, nuts and other fasteners without the risks associated with cheater bars.